Fun Math Cards Games - Three Simple Ways to Adapt Go Fish To Make Math More Fun

Go Fish! is arguably the absolute most common card game children play. Take this game, with rules well ingrained and turn it into some fun math card games, and your child may never even know you are making them do extra math work at home!

Review the rules: Use a standard deck of cards. Deal out five cards, spread the rest on the table. Take turns asking, "Do you have an _____?" If they have it, you get an extra turn, if not, you pick from the cards on the table. If you pick up what you asked for, show it and get another turn. A book all four cards the same number. Anytime you make a book, place it on the table and get another turn. Scoring is five points for each number card, ten points for each face card and fifteen for an ace.

For these Go Fish! fun math games, an ace is counted as a one. Decide about the face cards depending on the age of the child. When they are ready for multiplying by 11, 12 and 13 that is fine. Otherwise they can used as bonus cards where they do not have to do any math. Make adjustments the best way you can to make math more fun while playing.

Variation 1: When they put the book down they have to do something with the numbers. At first it will be counting them, then as they get older add them together. Then it can be a mixture of adding and subtracting. Finally once they are older it can be a combination of the four operations. Teacher supply stores have blank spinners and blank dice where you write whatever you want on them. Write the different operations and a wild for "choose your own operation." For this math card game a free turn does not work, so the last one could be roll or spin again.

Variation 2: Review multiplication facts by designating a game as "3 tables day" or "6 tables day" and so forth. Every time someone asks for a number they must multiply that number by the designated game number. On six table day, when they put a book down they will also say, "I have a book of sixes; and six times six is thirty-six."

Variation 3: This variation is just with scoring. Play the game as usual. When finished, add up the points as usual. Then have them spread all their cards on the table and see how many math family groupings they can create, give 5 bonus points for each grouping. For this the Jack is 11, Queen 12 and King is 13. So, 2,3,5 is a group 9.3,Q is a group. They state the group and all the facts that can be made with them, 2+3=5; 3+2=5; 5-2=3; 5-3=2 There might even be some advanced grouping based on factors, 2,3,4,6,8 Q group are all factors of 24.

Taking a common card game and adapting it to give extra math practice and making math more fun for your child is easy to do! Children in one family at different levels can play the same fun math card game with different expectations based on ability.

Knowing the Rules and Basics of Mahjong

It is undeniable that the game mahjong originated in China, although there are no records whatsoever of the person who created the mahjong or how it even became the game it is today. In the 19th century, the game mahjong became popular. And a lot of stories or rumors were created like; it was created by nobles as their leisure or army officers that were looking to fly by time. The most popular story was about the Chinese philosopher Confucius and his travels while spreading his favorite gambling game at every corner of China.

The game mahjong is played with a set of 136-144 tiles to be used with another 36 in the circle suit, 36 in the bamboo suit and another 36 for the character suit. There are four similar tiles for the numbers from 1 to 9. Wind tiles (North, South, East and West) have 4 each and 3 tiles for the Dragon (Red, Green and White). There are also 8 additional tiles; 4 flowers and 4 seasons which normally are not used.

Traditionally, mahjong solitaire tiles' are made from ivory or bamboo and the prints are artistically chiseled or hand-painted which makes it somehow expensive. In the beginning, the four players will shuffle the tiles and stack them facedown forming a two-level wall, and then push the tiles to the centre of the table and form a square. After shuffling, the dice will be used to determine who comes to pick a tile from the wall first.

The rules of the free mahjong game enables each player to take turns in drawing tiles from the wall until all of them have 13 tiles in hand. In order to win, a player needs to collect sets of three tiles according to their numbers and suits. Once each player has or his hand completed, they need to take turns drawing tiles and removing unnecessary tiles until all the tiles can be separated into sets of three. "Three-of-a-kind" is a set of three identical tiles or three tiles in the same suit in numeric sequence, and to complete a player's hand, they must also have one pair of similar tiles which is called the Eyes.

Tiles can be drawn from a Wall or a player can get a tile once it has been discarded by the consecutive player only if he or she can complete a set of three identical tiles. A player can also take a discarded tile that can complete a sequential set if the removal has been signaled the start of his or her own turn and no one can steal it for a three-of-a-kind set. The winner will be declared once he draws the final tile that can complete his or her hand. But when the last tile is drawn from the wall, it will be declared as a draw. The tiles are once more reshuffled and a new table of mahjong game begins.

Many different factors affect the scoring of the game. The so called purity of the finished hand, whether a player only has a three-of-a-kind sets to oppose a mix of three-of-a-kind and sequential sets, if he or she won with a single or multiple suits, and if a player had any of the wind or dragon tiles. These are all the factors that were used to determine the final score.

The information above are just basics and base rules of the free mahjong game. You will learn more and understand it clearly while playing it with your family or friends.

Simple Ideas to Guarantee Your Book Writing Success

Writing a book of your own can pay dividends for a lifetime. But at the beginning, you've got nothing - nothing but a blank pad of paper or computer screen staring back at you. Just remember that every book writer started the exact same way.

Once you've made the decision to write, you're filled with hopes and dreams. Your enthusiasm is at an all-time high as you envision many days of endless sales and cash for you. And that's the best time to map out your book in detail so when you go to write it, it's as easy as pie.

If you've never written anything since your last assignment in school you may be questioning your own ability to pull it off. But that's only because you have yet to do it. Writing a book can be an arduous task or a simple, step-by-step procedure, like completing a jig-saw puzzle.

You'll need to work at it consistently and organize your material in a logical or sequential manner. The first book is the most challenging, but you develop valuable skills in the process. Once you get a taste of the success that can be yours, in all likelihood you'll want to do it again and again and each successive effort gets a little bit easier.

Load your book with helpful, valuable information - targeted to a specific audience. Give them the benefits they desire, the solutions they seek. Constantly seek ways to add more value to your product. The more you create value, the more your buyers will love your book and recommend it to their closest friends and associates.

Delight your book buyer and your returns will be next to zero. You'll be creating happy customers and once you get them into your funnel, you can continually create additional, on-target products to sell them over time. It's much easier to sell to an existing customer who is already thrilled by your earlier product than it is to sell to someone who has never heard of you.

Long term success requires a business-building strategy rather than a one-shot sale. Think of your book as the launching pad to your info product empire and give it all you've got. That's how you put solid legs under your business and there's no telling how high you can climb.

Intangible Voice of Motivation

In order, for you, to connect and express YOUR Intangible Voice of Motivation, which is nothing less than your individual Soul's Assignment, you must first want to discover the obscurely veiled talents, gifts and abilities that lie repressed in you. Then, after acknowledging and agreeing that you are ready to receive the 'pool of work' attached, you must also agree to volunteer the time, effort, inclination, interest and experience required to explore, expose and use these gifts for your benefit and pleasure. This will certainly involve a different, more acutely defined way of interacting with yourself, dreams, relationships, work, and environment.

Second, you must need to fulfill an undeniable longing that won't be quieted any other way and third, you must actively participate in the responsibility of the excavation of the sacred revelations revealed. Although the information will seem very personal, it is cosmic in nature, and intricately linked to everything else that exists. It is what is sometimes referred to as esoteric (hidden) information. It is written: "those who seek me diligently will find me." No doubt, there is a Distinct Voice that governs and leads you at all times, selecting for you pertinent experiences in life without your conscious knowledge or consent. This Divine Voice has often been referred to as your conscience, soul, sub-conscience or spirit.

One Revolutionary Master of old referred to it as the "HOLY Spirit' who would guide and direct you in all truth. "IT" is abstract in nature, due to the fact of the mysterious nature in which it works. Unbeknown to you, this 'STILL SMALL VOICE' operates at all times without error, drawing to you those things, places, people and occurrences that will aid and challenge you in your daily walk. No rhyme or reason affects the disposition of this never changing Distinct Voice. Without relent, "IT" steadily, unwaveringly, constantly, untiringly and regularly sends you pertinent messages through all sorts of viable means. {Be they pleasant or unpleasant} Some people are able to drown out {or, at least turn down} the innate messages being delivered by turning up the volume of the presumed 'voice of distraction' in their present lives. However, these so called chaotic events, {though they may seem to be disconnected from the, still small voice, along with the people and circumstances that surround them} are necessary for your personal growth and evolvement and in no wise contradict your personal revered journey.

No matter how much you would like to argue in defense of your present situation, you need to at least be open to the idea that everything happens for a Divine Reason of which you are totally unaware. You must come to realize that the Soul's Voice will not be silenced for that Voice is the singular defining aspect of your life. Although, the 'still small voice' is always in operation, filling you with complete blessed assurance that everything is perfectly in order, you are more than likely not able to relate to, much less integrate, the relevance of the cohesive situation's message being offered at the time.

This fact is especially noted when the circumstances are either filled with heartbreaking pain, betrayal, infidelity, abandonment, confusion, despair, depression, abuse or unexpected disappointment. Other such debilitating circumstances are those labeled depravity, rejection, and/or corruption. Many bewildering things happen in the run of a day that you do not readily understand or comprehend. "That's the nature of the beast," or so they say. But the truth is: things happen for reasons you can't see, appreciate or possibly understand at the moment they occur. And more often than not, you are left wondering "What does/did that mean? Why did that happen to me?" In order to know, you will have to shift gears in your thinking and processing faculty. It's all a matter of 'making sense' out of the non-linear puzzle! Yes, I said non-linear. Nothing happens in a straight line; all of life takes place zig-zaggedly.

You will need to suspend the idea that you already know the outcome of any predisposed circumstance IF you are going to make any advancement in comprehension (consciousness). That sentence is worth repeating: you must eliminate the well ingrained notion that you can ... "see what is going on beforehand." You can't. We none can. There are indisputable ways of tapping into, connecting and 'making sense' of those seemingly disjointed and fragmented parts of the personal 'human' puzzle that lay before us each hour. But, it requires patience, the greatest of all virtues. What else do you have to do? Pay Attention. You must consciously bring awareness to your everyday walk. That's precisely what Cosmic Therapy is all about: learning how to remember to be acutely aware of yourself in your surroundings. You can not continue to jump to conclusions and automatically assume that something you may have seen or done a 1000 times before is insignificant. You can not simply dismiss an event or person as unimportant or irrelevant simply because you have grown accustomed to the face or idea. And, just as meaningful, you absolutely can not dismiss another for his/her actions simply because they are something you are not comfortable with, used to, or do not appeal to you. {Some of life's most significant messages are brought about by so called 'indecent' "improper" and "shocking" messengers.} Furthermore, you can not continue to whine, moan, bitch and complain because you believe you got the short of the stick and/or how somebody did you so wrong. Boo Hoo! Everybody's got a story, so what? That's the quicksand. You have grown too comfortable and complacent. You have become so bored with your life that you've begun to invent dramatic scenarios to engage your restless mind for awhile. It only works for the short term. There is so much more taking place in you and around you that you are not able to appreciate and absorb. The Voice of your incomparable Soul, who continually, without fail, sends you tangible little reminders, promptings and inner messages for your contemplation never, sleeps. But, you must be awake enough to see, hear, feel, taste and experience the authenticity of them. These Divine messages are always the "IT" behind the apparent 'scene in operation'; not the obvious but the what 'else' that's going down.

You want the Real Deal? Then get quiet, slow down, stop and observe yourself this moment. What are you feeling and where are you feeling it at? What color shirt, blouse, sweater do you have on? Take, for example: what is standing directly behind you? [Four feet, ten feet, 40 feet?] Put these items in a sequential sentence. I know it sounds ludicrous, but just do it. And, don't forget No One possesses the insight/ability to be able to or can decipher the applicable message for you {including me}. That's your job. But, I will reiterate, whatever it is that surrounds you is vitally important to your individual life and interpersonal activities at this moment in time. Write them off, IF you choose to, that's your business. But, if you are serious about connecting with the divine center in which the Intangible Voice of Motivation resides, you will have to become PRESENT in your affairs. In whatever way convenient and natural for you, start observing the things (sights, scents, sounds, sensations, and flavors) going on in and around you at all times. You possess a divine intent that responds very well to games.

The more entertaining, the better it responds. It's all about sheer pleasure. What are you passionate about? What truly interests you? Not for what you get from it but simply because you enjoy doing it? Use your life as a game in the way much like a personality-awakening artistic experiment. Without giving conscious thought, preference or notable reason, check the position and temperature of your feet. What kind of shoes do you have on? Where did you purchase them?

Why? What was going on that day with you? IF, you follow this through faithfully, an esoteric message pertinent to you at this VERY instant will be immediately revealed. You, nor I, have any logical explanation as to why or how these things work. Have fun with it! You decide what objects to select for observation at any given time. That's all part of the fantastic mystery of your particular Soul speaking directly to you in some way beyond my intellectual capacity to speculate. You may respond by saying, "I'll choose things I like because that's just how I am. And, I'm so lazy, I won't keep it up." OKAY but, that's NOT the real motivating factor behind your decision, at all. Nor is it the point! The point is for you to simply select at random any item of interest, at any time IT occurs to you, no matter what you think the reason to be for your choice or occasion. Don't force yourself to try to dissect and analyze the 'supposed' reason for your selection. Simply allow {by giving enough space in your preconceived thoughts} for the blatant realization to surface. In time, you will be able to discover and revel in the marvel of how ALL things are interrelated and connected. So, now it's up to you. Have a blast with it! It's a cosmic kind of therapy; entertaining, enlightening and fun, too.

Proprietary Trading Firms - Interview Questions and Preparation Tips

A common question from prospective proprietary traders preparing to make an impression at their interview for a trading vacancy is "What interview questions will I be asked?", "How will the interview process be conducted?" and "How best can I prepare for my interview?".

Every proprietary trading firm will have its own unique recruitment process, and these will often be modified frequently as firms adapt and update their techniques. It is therefore impossible to give anything more as a general guideline for the interview process and what can be included. However, in the following article may provide clues as to what you may be asked, and the best way to help you prepare for the interview.

Preparation

The research company and your partner (if known) to find out what their markets (stocks, options, futures and multi-asset) and the way in which trade (market makers, spreads, couples, algorithmic trading flow, etc.). Examine the job descriptioncarefully. Search the internet for prior discussions or comments on forums about the firm or position.

If you do not prepare carefully and thoroughly for the interview, why should the interviewer assume you will prepare properly for each trading day?

Make sure you know the products and exchanges such as fixed income or STIRS, Eurex and LIFFE. Read up on relevant tick sizes, value of contracts, rollover dates, volatility of contracts and product specifications.

Group interview

Some companies do this, some don't, but be prepared for the first round of interviewing to be done as a group. This is an easy way for a proprietary trading company to get a largish number of their most interesting applicants into their office en-mass, and to narrow down which of these applicants they are interested in speaking to one on one.

In a typical group interview, a recruiter (or two) will introduce the company and their opportunity. They will run through a brief presentation and then ask the candidate to stand up one by one and move the front of the room to make an introduction. You should talk about yourself, because you do and why to trade with their company, etc. Your introduction should be tailored to think about what you want to search for the company based on job description and your previous searches.

The group discussion can be a kind of cognitive tests or as a result, you can do this would besome of this on a PC. Quite likely they will also include some basic numeracy test too - these will not normally be exceptionally difficult tests, but a time limit will be imposed.

The whole process is usually crafted to help the prop firm recruiters identify and single out which of the grouped candidates display the characteristics the firm considers desirable. For example, trading requires confidence and composure, as well as effective communication with trainers and other traders especially if you go on to work in a team. The aptitude or maths tests will demonstrate whether you can retain your focus and accuracy whilst under pressure and in a competing environment against the other candidates.

Individual Interviews - Question types

Interview questions fall into category types, such as open or closed questions or behavioural questions, designed to elicit or provoke specific responses from inteviewees. It is useful if you understand the types of questions you may be asked, so that you can mentally prepare for how you can handle your responses in these question scenarios.

Behavioural questions - predicts future behaviour based on your past experiences
You should have ready examples of how your prior experiences have allowed you to develop specific skills required for the job, and explain the benefit to the firm.
STAR: Situation, Tasks, Action, Result

Open questions - " Tell us about........"

Keep in mind the skills likely to be required as a trader, and tailor your response around the job description, selection criteria and your strengths.

Closed questions - Used when the interviewer wants information of a specific factual or technical nature, these sort of questions can often be answered with a "yes" or "no"

They interviewer will be seeking clarification and elaboration of past experiences or will require you to demonstrate your knowledge in some subject area.

Hypothetical questions - "What would you do..." "How would you handle..."

These questions are designed to assess your mental agility, the ability to think on your feet.

Leading questions - The answer seems obvious...

"As a trainee trader you will require good communication abilities - do you have good skills in this area?" Do not give a simple yes or no answer. Always give examples to support your response.

Combination or sequential questions - two or more questions phrased together, on the same topic

Don't be afraid to ask for the question to be repeated if you can't recall parts of the full question during your response.

Use the 'STAR' method for answering interview questions

S: Situation - describe the scenario
T: Task or problem - what problem did you face?
A: Action - what action or decision did you take?
R: Result - what was the result or outcome of your action?

Common interview questions

Following are a list of some of the most commonly asked proprietary trading interview questions, and an indication of what the firm might be looking for in a response.

Tell me about yourself

The single most commonly asked question in all interviews, though it often catches the unprepared off guard. You need to have a short statement prepared in your mind. Be careful that what you say does not sound overly rehearsed. Limit your reply to Trading-related or professional information, unless otherwise instructed. Talk about things you have done and jobs you have chosen to belong to, or in any manner that might contribute to your suitability for the position you are interviewing trade. Start with things behind us and most of the work to date.

Why do you want a dealer?

Explain how long was your desire and describe the steps that you reach your destination. If exchangedalready this is a great opportunity to demonstrate real-world proof of your interest in trading by producing your account statements and PnL metrics. The firm will be for the desire to make money, and useful skills that you have already got from other areas. You should also demonstrate an understanding of the requirements of the job, and have longer term goals. They are not looking for people who are want a "glamorous" job, who have no appreciation for the hard work involved, or for people going into trading because they were unable to get into their chosen field; ie, an Investment Bank.

Do you consider yourself a risk taker?

You should answer this honestly, and be prepared to back your answer up with behavioural examples. If YES, give an example of a risk you took; Why do you consider that to be a risk? Do you enjoy taking risks? If NO, explain why; be prepared to describe what you consider to be a risk, and how you react to others who do take risks. The firm will likely be looking for people who know the difference between a calculated risk and recklessness, who consider the risk before hand and who enjoy the challenge of calculated risk taking. They will not be looking for people who enjoy risk taking purely for the adrenalin rush, or who cannot distinguish between risk taking and foolishness.

What do you know about this organization?

This question is one reason to do some research on the organization before the interview. Explain briefly what you know about the company, where he was and where they go. What are the current issues and that the main actors in society, what their markets and to trade and how they behave. Do not be afraid to phone the front desk in advance and talk to someone to do if your looking to try to obtain sufficient information.

Why do you want for business / company in that?

This may be a preliminary discussion andagain should be based on the prior research you have done on the prop group. Sincerity is quite important here and will easily be sensed. Relate your response to your long-term career goals - which should of course be linked to the trading opportunity you have applied for.

What have you done to improve your knowledge or skills in the last year?

Try to include self-improvement activities that relate to the specific opportunity. A wide variety of activities can be mentioned as positive personal improvement, and could include sports or performance activities. Have some good ones you think the firm would value ready to mention. Talk about what and how did you learn, how long did it take, are you still learning or perfecting? The prop firm will be looking for people who can explain why they wanted to learn, who understand that learning takes time. They will of course want people who put in considerable effort to learn something new and who realise that there will always be something new to learn.

They will not looking for people who show no perseverance, or who think a two day typing course is a good example.

Why should we hire you to trade for us?

Point out how your personal strengths and assets meet what the company needs. Ultimately, the company is looking for someone who will make money for them, so you should structure your reply in such a way that this result is your mutual objective and explain how you intend to accomplish that for them. Do not mention any other candidates to make negative comparisons.

Do you consider yourself successful?

You should always answer yes to this sort of question, and in short explain why. A good answer should include some personal goals that you have set, and explain which ones that you have met some and how you are on track to achieve the others.

What is your greatest strength?

Numerous answers are good, just stay positive. A few good examples: Your understanding of technical analysis, your analytical or problem-solving skills, Your ability to stay focused and work under pressure, your positive attitude, your persistence.

What has been your biggest disappointment?

Try to keep your response to a professional scenario. Endeavour to refer to something that was beyond your control. Show acceptance of the situation and no negative feelings. Explain why you think this happened, what steps have you taken to overcome this. How successful have these steps been, and most importantly, what have you learnt or taken from the situation that has led to personal improvement. The company are likely to be looking for people who can accept their part in a failure and who take some form of action to try to overcome failure or at least learn from it. They want people who accept that they will have failures, particularly in trading since losing trades are part of any traders activity.

They will not looking for people who think they are perfect, who don't accept their part or attempt to blame others, or people who get hung up about failure.

Describe a situation that required an unusual amount of hard work under pressure.

You could say that you thrive or enjoy certain types of pressure or that you perform at your best when in a stressful situation. Give an example that relates to a trading environment. Talk about whether the hard work in your example was justified, and you tried to relieve the stress, and if it was all worth it in the end. The firm would be looking for people who understand that success takes sustained hard work, and who can cope with and relieve stress. They will not be looking for people who think that success comes easily or who get bogged down by stress.

Are you willing to put the interests of the company before your own?

This is a direct loyalty and commitment question. Do not worry about any ethical and philosophical implications. Just answer yes.

How do you expect to counteract your lack of experience?

Firstly, if you have relevant trading or market experience the interviewer is not aware of yet, bring it up here: Then, point out (if correct) that you are a fast learner and will work hard.

Do you have any questions for me?

Always have questions prepared, even if you think you already know a lot about the opportunity or company from your prior research, as this will show that you are interested. Prepare your questions in such a way where you will be an asset to the organization are beneficial. "How soon will I be able to begin trading?" "What is the earliest I can get onto the trading floor each day?" "What types of strategies will I be able learn?" are examples.

Technical or Product related questions

Technical questions are something you should expect of almost every proprietary trading interview. While the area of speciality, market type and level of difficulty of these questions vary widely from firm to firm, you will undoubtedly be asked technical questions in at least one round of your interviewing.

Again, careful research about the firms activities and markets, and the trading role you have applied for may give you valuable pointers about areas of speciality that you should brush up on beforehand. Accurate and detailed responses will be what will most likely impress your interviewer and help improve your chances to land the job. In this the most competitive industry, it is important for you to gain any edge over other candidates that you can. If you put in the time to prepare, this can help give you that edge.

Some example Product related Interview Questions

Graph the price-yield relationship of bonds.

What is convexity?

What is an inverted yield curve?

The following are prices of four different bonds: 25, 23, 22, 24. Assuming that you can sell or buy these bonds at no cost, if you know that tomorrow, three of them will go to 0 and one of them, 100, how would you arbitrage?

How would you explain credit spread?

If the yen/dollar exchange rate is 100 yen/$ today and the one year forward rate is 105 yen/$, what does this imply?

What is the yen/dollar exchange rate today? Where do you think it will be in one year and why?

If an exporting company wants to pay no more than 110 yen to a dollar and no less than 90 yen to a dollar in 3 months, how would you use option instruments to hedge their position?

Would a price of a call option go up or down when the maturity of the option is longer?

Brain teasers & Problem Solving

It would pointless for us to include a huge library of possible interview problems or brain teasers in this article, you have Google available if you really want to find examples, but we suggest you research the Monty Hall probability puzzle, as variants of this paradox are fairly commonly asked in interviews

Interviewees should understand that some puzzles may not have an obvious solution, or pose some sort of paradox that has no right answer. The right answer in these situations is simply to demonstrate your reasoning as you work it out, and show that you won't panic.

Monty Hall style question:

You are on a game show, behind one of the doors is $1000. Behind the other 2 is nothing. You pick a door. The host, opens one of the other doors revealing that it's empty. He now gives you a chance to switch to the remaining closed door, or keep your original choice. Would you switch? What would you pay to switch?

Or another on similar lines...

I have two envelopes. One contains twice the amount of the other. I give you one of the envelopes. Should you switch?

Maths, Aptitude, Psychometric and Personality Profiling tests

Last of all, but not least - be prepared for some kind of mathematical tests at some stage during your interview process, particularly if the proprietary trading firm you are interviewing with is involved in market making, calendar spreads trading or options trading.

Although most trading platforms perform important calculations on ratios and implied prices automatically for you, the firm will expect you to have good math skills in any case, as they will want to be sure you understand what and how you are trading as they train you in their strategy.

A maths test is a reasonable measure of mental agility and you should expect, at the very least, a test involving numeracy, subtraction, multiplication and/or division of large numbers and fractions. If the firm you are testing with is quantitative or involved in options market making, expect the math testing to be difficult. The test will be timed to add of time pressure and stress into the equation.

More rigorous testing could include psychometric profiling. If you have never done a psychometric test, you should perform an internet search on the phrase and try some of the free tests that show up in your search. Although it is possible to improve your scores in these sort of tests by being familiar with what is involved, unfortunately, it is impossible to know exactly what the firm conducting the test is trying to profile you for. Just relax, and answer the questions honestly and as consistently as you can.

2 Features That Technical Writing Shares With Screenplay Writing, and 2 Others That it Does Not

At first sight, there cannot be any two writing niches as different as technical and screenplay writing.

Their 2 differences are very obvious:

Difference 1) Screenplay writing aims to put us into the shoes of a fictitious character and take us through a roller-coaster emotional experience. It aims to move us.

Technical writing is the exact opposite. It actually tries to AVOID any emotional reactions whatsoever on the part of the users. A technical document that elicits an emotional reaction is probably a not-so-good technical document.

Difference 2) Screenplay writing is built around characters. No character means no story and no screenplay.

Technical writing, on the other hand, is not built on a narrative that centers on a character. There is one abstract "character" in every technical document - "you," or the "user" which is also referred to as the "operator" or "administrator" depending on the document, task and context.

But these two different writing niches share two important characteristics as well:

1) NARRATIVE. Every document must have a logical, sequential narrative, explaining topic/step A after topic/step B, and not the other way around.

In the movie world we of course have "non-linear narratives," the kind made famous by Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction." But still the screen writer must write the script in such a fashion that, at the very end, all those non-linear scenes must still make sense linearly when the viewers re-order them in their imagination. The narrative order is there even in "Pulp Fiction" but it's just concealed and broken into many jigsaw puzzle pieces.

In technical writing the narrative also needs to be there, as clearly stated in the Table of Contents, clear enough for all readers to understand and follow easily.

2) STRUCTURAL HIERARCHY. A screenplay, just like a technical manual, is a highly structured document.

Conceptually, a screenplay is made up of Acts (usually 3), which are divided into Sequences, which are made up of individual Scenes.

And what's more, each scene is structurally constructed out of clearly defined elements. First comes the Scene TITLE, followed by Scene Description, Character Name, Parenthetical Note, and Dialog. Each "Dialog Set" is repeated for all the characters talking in a scene, interspersed by additional Descriptions, as needed. Then the scene ends with a Transition, if any (like FADE OUT etc.).

Similarly, a technical document (I'm assuming a printed one here) also starts with a Front Cover and ends with a Back Cover. In between we have the Front Matter, TOC, Lists of Figures and Tables (if any), followed by individual Chapters each of which is divided into sections, paragraphs and individual sentences. Most technical documents are capped off with an index in the back.

and a time-honored integrated structure by deep-seated in the formation of each technique and writer. So I think the writers technical writers would do with a touch and great technique to easily create XML-based structured documents and traditional.

Gift Suggestions For Bariatric Surgery Patients - 3 Tips

Bariatric surgery is simply another term for weight loss surgery. It is recommended by doctors for some people who are at least 100 pounds overweight. Most bariatric surgery procedures are designed to reduce the stomach's capacity to ingest and process food. The intended result of this type of surgery is dramatic weight loss in the surgery recipient.

There are various types of procedures that fall under the heading of bariatric surgery. Most either involve reducing the stomach's capacity to absorb nutrients (malabsorptive) or restricting the stomach's size (restrictive).

Regardless of the type of procedure being performed, bariatric surgery patients face a substantial road to recovery, given the invasive nature of the surgery.

Recovery From Bariatric Surgery

Recovery from bariatric surgery usually happens in stages, with different actions required by the patient at each stage. For example, for the first week at home after surgery, the patient will be restricted to a diet of 3 ounces of clear liquid for each meal. Then, at about day 10 or so, if the recovery is deemed by the surgeon to be going smoothly, the patient is allowed to progress to eating soft and pureed foods.

Besides this strict dietary regimen, other aspects of recovery after surgery can include deep breathing exercises, the use of a Sequential Compression Device (SCD), and care of the incision.

How To Show You Care

Watching someone you care about go through this difficult recovery period after bariatric surgery is not always easy. This is because you know the person is facing at least two major challenges at once: 1. the difficulty of suddenly having a very restricted diet, and 2. dealing with the healing of the surgery wounds and adjusting to the new lifestyle.

The very best way to show someone that you care during bariatric surgery recovery is to just be there for them. This can include sending letters, calling and visiting when possible. Words of encouragement that they are on the right path are always helpful.

Of course, if you have the budget for it, buying this person a gift can be a great idea. Receiving a gift during recovery can perk up their spirit and lighten their mood, especially if the going is rough for the first few weeks or months.

Gift Suggestions For Bariatric Surgery Patients - 3 Tips

If you are thinking of giving this person a gift, here are 3 tips to help you decide what to get:

1. Challenge and sharpen their mind with games and puzzles: If the person loves forms of entertainment that challenge the mind, consider giving him or her games, puzzles, and trivia books. Also, books of lists (world's tallest, fastest, most expensive, etc.) can be a great form of entertainment to pass the time.

2. Captivate their imagination with story: The imagination is a wonderful ticket out of the day-to-day challenges of surgery recovery. Whether it be in the form of a popular fictional book series, DVDs, or even audio books, give the gift of story to help the person pass the time.

3. Highlight their interests and hobbies: Everybody has an interest or a hobby. Focus on what makes this person tick - what makes him or her happy. Then, get a collection of related things together, like DVDs, photo collection books, magazines, and posters. Surround the person with what they love to watch, read or do.

Follow these 3 tips to help you choose the right gift for a bariatric surgery patient.